'Drop text cost' says telecoms chief

International roaming costs too high

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Ever been sat on a beach in Benidorm and wanted to send a picture of an amusing duck to a friend of loved one? Well, the experience could soon get a lot cheaper if EC telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has anything to do with it.

Reding wants the cost of international texting and mobile data browsing to drop significantly for those crossing the borders, having already successfully managed to convince mobile network operators to drop roaming call charges.

No joy in text

The date to drop the texting and data costs is set for 1 July, but the telecoms commissioner is not convinced this will happen.

The network operators have responded to the calls by dropping the cost of texting by around fiver pent, but Reding does not think this is enough.

"I am not impressed by this [the small drop in prices]".

"If this stays unchanged until July 1 ... I will not be the only one to believe that regulatory intervention will be necessary again.